HENKE

Herz (EP)

I never liked the EPs of Henke. And so also this one, Herz. There’s only one reason for it: Henke’s compositions are always great and an EP is way too short to bring or give you the perfect mood for it, and it always leaves you hungry yearning for more.

However, playing in on repeat, gave me the intensity a release of Henke deserves.

Title track Herz opens the EP. Romantic piano playing and violins build up a slow & beautiful ballad where Henke pontificates about the human heart and the feeling of loss & solitude.

That same feeling can be found in Heroes, a masterpiece from David Bowie. Normally I would recommend people not to try to cover the true great classic rock songs, but Oswald Henke reconstructs the song in his own beautiful way. In Oswalds recreation, the basics of the song remain the same as the original, but he gently whispers the words toward his opponent, Sonja Kraushofer (Coma Divine, L'Âme Immortelle). She takes over the female part with powerful and highly intense vocals. The result is a creation of its own: simply "Helden".

Third (and last ) new song on the EP is Orangenschiffchen. In the tradition of some Goethes Erben songs, Mr. Henke builds up a beautiful song around a rather obvious theme as an orange boat. Several changes of pace and a truly great arrangement make also this song intense.

The following song is a live recording of Weil ich es kann. It proves that Henke remains a great live performer: the intensity and beautiful details of original songs never get lost if Henke performs them live.

The final track is a remix of the title track, Herz. This ambient like remix is not bad, but it brings no added value to the EP. Personally, I would have skipped it on this great EP.

But we forgive him for this minor mistake, since Henke is a Hero, and not only for one day.